Collision recap and reactions: Adam Copeland is missing an angel

Saturday night is alright for fighting. AEW Collision (May 25, 2024) emanated from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The show featured Adam Copeland flipping the script on the House of Black, Tony Khan bringing in a surprise, Don Callis with a proposal for Jon Moxley, and more on the night before Double or Nothing.

Adam Copeland is missing an angel

On a night with several interesting promos, Adam Copeland stood above the rest. Brody King and Buddy Matthews were fresh off tag team victory when Copeland delivered his message on the big screen. Malakai Black wanted Copeland as this devilish version on one shoulder without an angel on the other shoulder, and it caused Copeland to walk that dark path. Copeland flipped the script on Black’s games. What if the master manipulator had been plotting this scheme the whole time to get closer to King and Matthews? Copeland opined about them joining his cause to form the House of Blood.

The full promo is a lot more vivid in verbal description from Copeland.

Wow. Copeland leading his own bloody faction is an aspect that never crossed my mind. I think that is a little misdirection for mind games, however, it is intriguing food for thought. It also adds an extra layer of temptation to the story. Most importantly, Copeland’s promo made it clear that he won’t be fooling around when it comes time for the barbed wire steel cage match. He sold me that it will be a very violent affair. Black crossed a line that there’s no going back from, and Copeland won’t have an angel on his shoulder hindering him.

Tony Khan’s mystery partner

Tony Khan had a mystery up his sleeve. He arranged for Claudio Castagnoli and Daniel Garcia to wrestle Lance Archer and The Righteous in trios action. The good guys needed a third, and Khan had a special friend for the job. Enter Hiroshi Tanahashi from NJPW through the Forbidden Door.

Tanahashi was in a groovy mood to play air guitar as Garcia danced.

Claudio was in a swinging mood taking Dutch for a ride.

In the end, Tanahashi secured the win via High Fly Flow splash. Tanahashi did the Garcia dance in celebration. And no, Claudio did not join in.

Pretty entertaining match all around. Tanahashi was a pleasant surprise. They used him in spots to pop the crowd. His appearance also worked as a reminder that the Forbidden Door PPV is around the corner. The focus here is on Tanahashi, however, the bad guys held their own to make it competitive.

Let’s jam through the rest of Collision.

Don Callis tried to recruit Jon Moxley. Mox opened the show in honor of the company’s five-year anniversary.

Callis came out to spew his sales pitch. His angle was trying to convince Moxley that their personalities are the same. Deep inside, they feel nothing. They are both sociopaths operating in this business. If Mox joined the Callis Family, nobody could stop them. Moxley stood stone-faced the whole time. His response was that he needed to see Callis bleed more. Wrong answer. Konosuke Takeshita attacked from behind and used a chair to stomp Moxley’s arm. The Blackpool Combat arrived late for the save to prevent further damage. Questions are abound if Takeshita broke Mox’s limb.

That was an interesting way for Callis to approach Moxley. A ‘yes’ wasn’t likely, but no harm in trying. Besides, Callis had a backup plan for protection. This injury now works drama into an otherwise predictable result. I still think Moxley wins, so this tactic may backfire to make Takeshita look weak being unable to defeat a one-armed man. However, there is now reason to be curious about how the result plays out. Side note, I still find great amusement in the level of boos Callis receives when trying to deliver a promo.

Lucha Bros defeated the Gunns. Pentagon saved Fenix from a 3:10 to Yuma, then the luchadores took control for the flying butt stomp package piledriver combo on Colten Gunn to win. That victory earned Death Triangle a trios title shot against the Bang Bang Gang at Double or Nothing.

It was nice seeing the Lucha Bros back in the ring again. They flow so smoothly together.

Kyle O’Reilly defeated KM. O’Reilly used submissions to take down the larger man. He secured a jumping guillotine choke to transition to kicks. O’Reilly blocked a clothesline to counter for an armbar to win.

Quick work for O’Reilly to show that there are levels to this game. I like how he used he technical skills to overcome the size advantage held by KM.

Brody King & Buddy Matthews defeated Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona, The Infantry, and The Acclaimed. Four-way tag match with two legal men in ring. The match broke down in the end with the Gates of Agony and Brian Cage brawling with The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to the back. The House of Black picked apart The Infantry to cream Carlie Bravo for a corner cannonball combo to win.

Rowdy match. The peak was meat on meat with King and Liona going at it. Sprinkle in high-flying for extra spice. The finish reignited the fire between between rivals to setup up a PPV pre-show trios match, and it also protected both teams in defeat since they were absent for the pinfall. House of Black earned a quality win to move up the rankings, if that is still a thing. Damn, imagine House of Black versus Young Bucks. That is a dynamic I’d like to see.

Mariah May defeated Leyla Hirsch. Hot girl graps led to May shoving her chest in Hirsch’s face and doing a little jig afterward. Hirsch answered with a belly-to-belly suplex.

In the end, Hirsch missed a moonsault, and that led to her downfall. May rallied to earn victory via stiff knee to the mush.

This match was much more entertaining than I was expecting. May brought comedic moments in the ring, but she backed it up with wrestling. Hirsch’s technical style acted as a good foil to May’s cheekiness.

Bryan Danielson & FTR defeated Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, & Satnam Singh. Jarrett’s crew still had Elite blood money on their mind for the main event, but their treachery backfired in the end. They set up the guitar spot only for referee Aubrey Edwards to confiscate the foreign object. Jarrett went with a chair instead, and he accidentally clobbered his giant. Danielson flattened Jarrett with a Busaiku Knee to win, while FTR took out Lethal with a Shatter Machine to prevent the save.

The show closed with a rallying cry promo from Team AEW heading into Anarchy in the Arena against the Elite. FTR fight for AEW out of love for the company and the fans.

The main event delivered fun. I don’t think we need Danielson’s retirement tour to include a singles match with Jarrett, so this may have been the de facto moment. They engaged enough throughout the trios bout that it felt like a fight within the fight. It was satisfying seeing Danielson blast the Busaiku Knee on Jarrett. Also of note, Satnam excelled doing giant stuff. AEW has done a very good job of showcasing his strengths and hiding his weaknesses. I know Satnam won’t be everyone’s flavor, but he still owns his special attraction aura in my eyes despite recent losses.

Notes: Will Ospreay was still bloody backstage at Dynamite after the attack from Roderick Strong. That violence didn’t scare him. He lives for this, bruv. The blood on the International Championship bonded his spirit to that belt. It is now his duty to win the title.

The Elite aired a hype package with a slanted view painting Team AEW as the bad guys. The straight bullshit is pretty funny.

Chris Jericho was confident in working extra hard to retain the For The World Championship against Hook and Katsuyori Shibata. Bryan Keith, who lost the FTW contender match, interrupted to say this isn’t the last Jericho will see of him.

Willow Nightingale received promo time in the center of the ring. Her message to Mercedes Moné was clear. Willow is going to wreck the CEO. She’ll be damned if she lets Mercedes end her TBS title reign. Willow is just getting started as champion, and she’ll prove that she is the better woman. This was another good babyface promo for Willow to rally her supporters.

Trent Beretta is going to show the whole world that he is a better wrestler than Orange Cassidy. Rocky Romero requested that the Best Friends crew can put all of this behind them and come together as a family. Trent was adamant to say that will never happen. He also threatened Romero to never interrupt him again.

Toni Storm is going to make Serena Deeb’s seizures feel like a Sunday stroll in the park when they wrestle at the PPV.

Serena Deeb plans to stretch Storm limb from limb to become world champion.

Christian Cage returned to the scene of the crime where Swerve Strickland attacked Nick Wayne at his home gym. The Patriarch will hold Swerve accountable for the crimes against his son. This video package is very well produced with soundbites and imagery.

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Stud of the Show: Mariah May

The Glamour finds a way to be more and more entertaining each week.

Match of the Night: House of Black vs. Gates of Agony vs. The Infantry vs. The Acclaimed.

There wasn’t necessarily one standout bout, but there was a lot of enjoyable work across the board to make this a tough choice. I’m rolling with the four-way tag contest, because it offered a variety of styles meshing well together.

Grade: B-

A suitable appetizer for Double or Nothing.

Share your thoughts about Collision. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show?